


Gou/Chase Drabbles

by RiddlePanda



Category: Kamen Rider Drive
Genre: Gen, Gou/Chase friendship for the most part with hints of a growing relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 11,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiddlePanda/pseuds/RiddlePanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edited: Originally just short-ish Gou/Chase drabbles based on a random list of 25 words</p><p>Drabbles have now become snippets of a continuing story about the growing friendship of Gou and Chase and their efforts in Chase exploring the experiences of humanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Soothe

**Author's Note:**

> Writing challenge: Given a list of 25 random words to make drabbles based off them.
> 
> Edited: Originally tried to keep to unrelated drabbles for each, but ended up becoming bit drabbles of a continuing story. Once the final chapter is posted, end notes will give my thoughts as well as a timeline of events and a reading order list.

Gou gasped as the cold glop of aloe vera landed on him, before sighing in relief as the gel soothed his burning back. Both Gou and Chase had had the day off from their respective jobs, so the two decided to go to the beach, since Chase had never gone.

Despite living in Arizona for a time, Gou had forgot that it had been a while since he had worn anything other than his t-shirts and jacket, so the sun had been relentless on his shirtless body.

A few more glops landed on him, before Chase carefully sat on the edge of the bed, in order to not jostle Gou, and began to gingerly spread the gel across the teen’s back.

“Next time, wear the sunscreen I brought. I do not wish to see you in pain like this.”

“M’kay.” Gou mumbled in his pillow, before sighing in relief again.


	2. Clothes

Gou hadn’t really questioned the fact that Chase only wore his purple outfit until he had tripped on their living room rug and accidentally dumped his soda all over Chase’s pants. 

After apologizing profusely and the Roidmude reassuring him that it was okay, Chase stood up and promptly digitized his pants to be clean again.

Gou stared at him in disbelief. “Is…is that how you wear the same outfit every day? You just create a new one when it gets dirty?”

Chase stared at the teen in confusion. “Yes. My outfit is just data, so I just… …That is not how humans do it, do they?”

“No, we actually have to put on fresh clothes each day and wash our dirty ones.” Gou noticed that Chase was beginning to get what he called “The Thinking Look” on his face. “Would you like to try that? Wear a different outfit?”

“I do not have any physical clothes. I could just digi…”

“You can borrow some of mine until we go shopping for something more your style and size. Mine will probably be a bit loose on you.”

Gou picked out one of his blue shirts and a pair of black pants and the Roidmude went to go change into them. Chase came back into the living room with a look of amazement in his eyes and he was almost close to smiling.

“These are…comfortable. They do not restrict my movements like my regular clothes do. I like them, especially the pants.”

Gou laughed. “To be honest, those pants of yours looked so tight, there were some times where I really thought they were gonna just rip off your body.”

“But Gou…I told you they were just da…”

“Checklist of new clothes for Chase! Item one, comfy pants!”


	3. Angel

The human Medic had copied, Misuzu Hatori, made it a point to send the Riders tickets to each of her ballet programs when she had a performance in the city, as a thank you for protecting her and Shou.

Most of the time, Shinnosuke and Kiriko were on duty and Gou usually had a photo gig that kept him from going. Chase made sure to go to each performance, despite his schedule.

Gou had finally got a day where he could go and accompanied Chase to a performance. 

As the curtain lifted and Misuzu began dancing, Gou glanced over to Chase and was surprised to see that while he had a smile on his face, his eyes look saddened. 

Chase noticed the other staring at him and leaned in when there was a break in the program. “Despite her demeanor at first, Medic was an amazing dancer. We would sit there and watch her dance for hours, even Brain. She looked so beautiful, like an angel, when she danced. Although Medic and Misuzu have different dance styles, watching her dance is the least I can do to keep a bit of Medic’s memory alive.”

As Gou stayed back and watched Chase give Misuzu flowers and a huge hug following the program, he decided to make sure he’d be free to go to all of the ballerina’s future performances.


	4. Sharing

Upon finding out that Chase really didn’t have anywhere to stay once they decommissioned the Drive Pit, Gou immediately offered for Chase to come stay with him in his apartment. It seemed like a good first step for the teen to apologize for the way he had treated the Roidmude all that time since he had joined the Riders. 

The apartment was a decent size as far as Japanese apartments went, with many of the luxuries that one in America would have. Gou then realized, once the two were there and he was showing Chase around, that his spare bedroom was filled with his photo equipment and random stuff and needed to be cleaned. They also needed a bed for the Roidmude since Gou refused to let Chase sleep on a futon or the couch. 

“We can go out bed shopping later in the week, but until then, you can share my bed. I usually move around a lot when I sleep, so I made sure to get a huge bed. You don’t mind, do you?” Gou sheepishly said as he started putting some of his equipment in a box.

“I usually just power down and only leave a sensor on if I detect danger near me when I sleep. You will not disturb me with moving around.”

Both of them didn’t realize the other would have nightmares and need comforting until the two woke up in each other’s arms for three mornings straight, each with dried tear streaks on their faces. They decided to keep sharing the bed and use the extra bedroom as a more organized storage room.


	5. Hamburger

“Gou...that doesn’t even look edible. Are you sure that’s even considered food? And it doesn’t even look like it holds much nutrition. And from the packaging, it claims it has twice the recommended allowance of the cal...”

The teen made sure to swallow the huge mouthful of food he had, so he wouldn’t spray food on Chase’s face. “It’s a hamburger. They’re not SUPPOSED to look edible or be healthy. But...they are SOOOOO delicious! Stop questioning and start eating. You’ll understand when you do.”

Chase closed his eyes and took a deep breath before picking up the hamburger in front of him and tentatively took a bite. He had been unsure that the combination of the four basic food groups into one should look that unappealing, but once the flavors his his tongue, he found it quite enjoyable.

“This is good. I believe out of all the food I have tried, this is the most...delicious, as you would call it. It is even better than Kiriko’s cooking.”

The Roidmude’s eyes grew wide and he looked Gou dead in the eyes.

“Please do not tell Kiriko I said that. I have seen what she has done to Shinnosuke when he has accidentally criticized her food. I do not wish to meet the same fate.”

Gou laughed, rubbing his jaw. “Oh don’t worry. I accidentally told her she looked like an old man eating ramen one time. I couldn’t eat solid foods for a week. Your secret is safe with me.”


	6. Explosion

Both Gou and Chase still had nightmares about the final battle with Banno, even after a few months had gone by. 

Gou had initially thought that Chase was trying to make the teen feel better by saying that he knew what Gou was talking about when he described his nightmares to the Roidmude, but quickly learned that Chase, despite being a robot, had them too.

Chase’s nightmares kept throwing him in the worst case scenario, as if the real thing that happened hadn’t actually been. It was always the explosion that cost Chase his life. And it always ended each time in that Gou had been caught in the explosion of his body. 

Gou refusing to let him get up.

Chase mis-judging the time he would explode.

Chase falling unconscious as Gou caught him.

Banno getting that last ax strike in.

Chase not being able to get Banno and him far enough for Gou not to get hit.

Gou seeing Chase’s Core and trying to run to it.

Gou getting up to try to stop Chase and getting hit with shrapnel. 

Unlike a human, who forgot most of a nightmare once waking, Chase remembered every vivid detail and he would wake up frantically trying to find Gou in their shared bed. In those rare moments of vulnerability, Gou would hold a shaking Chase, running his fingers through the Roidmude’s hair, telling him that it was okay. He was alive again, he was living as much of a human life as he could, and that Gou would always be there for him.

Gou would resurrect Banno and kill him again a million times if it meant it would stop Chase’s nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still open ended about how Chase gets resurrected since he's been shown in the final episode Ghost crossover scans and Taiko confirmed he'll be in the Ghost/Drive Movie Wars movie. So until that's told, his resurrection won't be mentioned.


	7. Delirious

It was bad enough to have one wisdom tooth taken out. Gou had needed all four taken out at the same time. The two roommates knew that Gou would be out of commission for at least a week to recover, so Gou made sure to post that he’d been taking the week off of any photography jobs on his website and the two made sure to stock up on soft foods and plenty of liquids.

Chase had just walked into the apartment and began to untie his boots, when he heard Gou giggling insanely from their living room. He cautiously walked through the apartment, careful to not let Gou know the Roidmude was home. When Gou started laughing like that, he eerily sounded exactly like Banno, which was a given considering Gou was Banno’s son. It also meant Gou was up to no good. 

Gou was laying on the couch right where Chase had left him that morning, staring at his hands, clenching them every so often, and giggling each time.

“Gou...”

The teen looked up to see the Roidmude staring at him and held up his fingers, flexing them in Chase’s direction.

“My fingers are FINGING!!!!” Immediately, Gou busted out in his insane giggles again. 

Chase pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gou... you’re delirious. Did you either forget to eat or take an extra pain pill?”

“It’s a possibility!” Gou giggled as he hugged one of the couch pillows before licking it. 

“Alright... I’m in charge of your medication now.”


	8. Shivering

The first snow of Winter had hit and Gou was standing outside the building where Chase worked, waiting for him to get off. The two were going to see a new action movie that had come out that had looked interesting.

Gou saw Chase exit and waved him over and the two began walking up the street to the shopping district where the movie theater was. 

As Gou was talking about his day, Chase noticed the teen shake every so often.

“You’re shivering. You should have worn your heavier coat today.”

Gou scoffed and pulled his jacket around him closer. “Yeah...but I was in a hurry to get here before you got off so we could make the movie in time. Didn’t have time to grab it.”

Chase glared at the boy before sliding out of his winter coat and wrapping it around Gou’s frame, causing the teen’s cheeks to flush red. 

“Chase! What the...?!”

“You’re cold and my coat will keep you warmer than your jacket. Besides, you know I don’t actually need it. We just bought it to give the illusion I’m human. I don’t actually get cold.” 

Gou grumbled and the two kept walking, the teen glancing over at the Roidmude and watching as the light snow fell on Chase’s bare arms. After a few minutes, Chase sighed and stepped into an alleyway, walking back a few seconds later wearing his purple leather jacket.

“Is this acceptable Gou?”

“You just looked so weird without a jacket on.”

“If you had worn proper winter attire, I wouldn’t have had that problem. At least you’re not shivering anymore. That was what I was more concerned about. I have seen how whiny Shinnosuke has been when he’s sick. I refuse to let you get the same way.”

Gou pouted. “I wasn’t...”

“IF you got sick, I’d leave Kiriko in charge of you. I know how much she likes playing “Mad Doctor” on everyone.”

“...Thanks for the coat and I promise to start wearing my winter jacket. DON’T sic my sister on me!”


	9. Pain

The more time Chase spent with Gou, the quicker he learned that Gou enjoyed pain. 

It didn’t matter what kind, be it physical, emotional, mental; the teen seemed to lap up any sort of pain that was inflicted on him.

At first, Chase just thought that Gou allowed himself the pain in order to effectively perform his job as a Kamen Rider, what with Gou’s own father being the source for the torment the young Rider suffered. As time went on, especially after they had finally defeated Banno, Chase noticed that it was just a part of who Gou was, regardless of their past situation.

It was hard at first, to see Gou walk into their shared apartment, covered in fresh bruises and cuts, the aftermath of doing a bit of undercover work for an investigation Shinnosuke was working on. The first few times Gou walked in, especially the time he came in with a black eye so swollen, it took two days for him to even be able to see out of it, Chase had told Kiriko that maybe the undercover work was too much for the teen. He had been worried about his roommate and friend, especially since he was off at his own job and wasn’t able to back Gou up like he used to. 

Kiriko told him she would talk to her brother and to not worry. That night when Gou got home, he took one look at Chase and immediately decked the Roidmude. Gou’s punch didn’t hurt but the pained whimper the teen emitted while cradling his hand told Chase that it had very much hurt the boy. 

Chase had sat Gou down on the couch and proceeded to ice the hand to keep the swelling down, before grabbing their dwindling first aid kit to tend to Gou’s wounds.

“Don’t. Don’t EVER tell my sister that you’re worried the undercover work is too much for me again. Got it Chase? Just…just keep it between us, okay?”

“Then don’t come home with injuries that I can’t treat with our first aid kit. Or if you get in too deep, call me, and I will come help you as fast as I can. I do not wish to see you in pain, but I cannot stop you from wanting yourself injured. I worry because you are my buddy and comrade. We may not do much Rider work as used to, but I still wish to back you up when you are in trouble.”

“Deal. …We’re gonna run out of supplies soon, aren’t we? Maybe…I should cut back a bit…”


	10. Bodyguard

Despite Gou insisting that his photography gigs paid pretty well and he had more than enough to support himself and Chase, the Roidmude insisted on trying to find a job to help out with the apartment and basic necessities the two needed. Humans had jobs and it was something Chase wanted to experience.

The two enlisted the help of Shinnosuke and Kiriko, whose police connections could help with creating Chase an identity he could use to fill out applications. The Driver’s License already helped, but after spending the entire day in the police station, Chase now had a “real name”, birth certificate, passport, and anything else he might need to identify himself as a human. 

“So… how’d you come up with the name Taiko Katono as your “real name” anyway?” Gou was leafing through Chase’s new paperwork and information, while Chase was filling out work applications. 

“It…just felt like a good name for some reason. I’ll mainly still have people refer to me as Chase, but for paperwork purposes, it’ll be Taiko.”

After an unsuccessful week of looking for a job suitable for Chase to work at, including a very red-faced Gou rescuing a very clueless Chase from a strip club, Shinnosuke had called the two, asking if Chase would want to work undercover as a bodyguard for a case he was working on. 

After the case was solved, the agency Chase went undercover at was impressed by the Roidmude’s work, and decided to offer him a job, protecting the clients of the agency whenever they had events in the city. 

There were many days Chase had to work late, but he felt proud every time he prevented the people he was protecting from getting hurt. 

Gou just wished Chase hadn’t got addicted to the J-Dramas most of his clients starred in.


	11. Computer

As soon as Chase walked in the living room, Gou immediately knew something was troubling the Roidmude.

“Rough day at work? Can I help with anything?” 

Gou patted the cushion next to him and Chase sat down, sighing loudly. 

“It...was a special client, a government computer programmer. He was in charge of making sure the entire police computer databases in city were encrypted so no data could be leaked. He’s been in multiple kidnapping attempts by an organization that Shinnosuke’s team has been investigating. They were finally caught tonight.”

“You know...you really shouldn’t be telling me this...”

“His name is Mitsuharu Kineta... He...he was Brain’s human.”

Gou immediately pulled Chase closer and the Roidmude laid his head down on the pillow in Gou’s lap. The teen began running his fingers through Chase’s hair while Chase flashed the entire day in his mind, calming himself down. Only Gou really knew how much Chase had actually missed Heart, Brain, and Medic.

Gou knew one day that any of their group might run into the human that Brain had copied. Chase had actually met the man that Heart was forced to copy, a very wealthy businessman that had a lot of stock in the agency Chase worked for. Although the man had aged sixteen years and was well into his early 40′s, the man still looked like Heart. 

It hadn’t been as bad with Misuzu and slipping into calling her Medic, since she knew about the Roidmudes and the Riders, but Chase still felt bad about accidentally calling the man by Heart while the two had talked. 

The man had actually remembered Banno and the research the scientist had proposed to him and had wanted to know about what had happened with all of it, since he was impressed that Chase was the prototype he had seen in the papers he was shown and was glad that Chase was working to protect people.

“So...how long did it take you to explain to this Mitsuharu about the Roidmudes and Brain?”

Chase sat up but kept his head on Gou’s shoulder. “Actually not long. He actually remembered seeing Brain that night before he got knocked out. After I explained everything and about Brain, Mitsuharu actually said he wished he would have met him under neutral circumstances. He said it sounded like Brain seemed lonely and probably needed a friend. ...I just wish...”

“I know Chase. I know.”


	12. Memories

It all started with a photograph that Kiriko had found while she, Gou, and Chase were packing up her apartment in order to move in with Shinnosuke, after he had finally proposed to her. 

Kiriko didn’t even realize that their mother had taken them to see their father while he was working, but judging from the photo, it probably hadn’t been long before their mother had left Banno. 

The photo was of a three year old Gou smiling and hugging the arm of a kneeling Chase in his Roidmude form. On the back were the words “Gou and his robot friend at daddy’s lab - 1999″

When the two saw it, Gou had started tearing up, prompting Chase to embrace the teen and lock eyes with Kiriko, who nodded and walked out of the room. 

“Chase...I don’t remember...I can’t...when did...?” Gou started sobbing into the Roidmude’s chest and Chase held him tighter.

“It is not your fault for not remembering. Most humans do not remember events that early in their lives. I...unfortunately do not remember this taking place as well, due to my memories being tampered with too many times.”

Gou looked up to see tears on Chase’s face as well. “I’m sorry Chase. If either of us had remembered...”

“The way I see it is that we were friends, we had a falling out, and then resolved the problem we had with each other and became friends again. In many of the drama shows I watch, there is usually an episode that deals with this sort of thing.”

Gou rubbed his eyes and held up the photograph again and began to smile. “I still wish we remembered what happened but at least... Wait!”

The teen ran out of the room and came back with his camera bag and Kiriko right behind him. He handed the camera to Kiriko. 

“Nee-chan, take a picture of Chase and me! If we can’t remember what happened back then with old pictures, then we’ll make new memories with new pictures!”

Gou grabbed Chase’s arm like his three year old self did and started smiling widely. Chase looked over to Gou and smiled just like he did when he got his license picture taken as Kiriko took their picture.


	13. Tempt

Gou glared at Chase from across the kitchen table as the Roidmude slowly and deliberately took a bite of the cake one of Chase’s clients had made him as a thank you gift for his service. Unfortunately, the cake was covered in strawberries and Gou really hated the fruit, so he declined helping Chase eat the cake.

Chase was being very annoying with loudly moaning with each bite he took however, and all Gou could do was to stare him down until Chase realized that his plan of getting the teen to take a bite wouldn’t work.

The Roidmude had immediately seen through Gou’s plan and kept smirking as he picked up one of the whole strawberries, swirled it around the cream on top of his slice, and slowly licked the strawberry clean before biting half of it off. He slowly chewed, allowing some of the juice to escape his mouth, before darting his tongue out to lap it up before it ran down too far.

“QUIT TRYING TO TEMPT ME CHASE! I TOLD YOU I DON’T…”

In the time it took Gou to stand up and being yelling at him, Chase had taken a bite of cake, stood up and promptly kissed Gou. The teen still had his mouth open wide, so Chase used his tongue to shove the bit of cake in Gou’s mouth. The Roidmude kept their lips locked until Gou began to chew and then swallow the cake. 

Chase pulled away and sat back down and watched as a very red faced and dazed Gou slowly sat down and slowly touched his lips with his fingers.

“How was it Gou?”

“G…good. It was…good.”

Chase smirked. “I meant the cake.”

“Th…that too…”


	14. Elevate

Gou knew he shouldn’t have climbed the rocks next to the wedding reception hall he was taking photos for to get an aerial picture of the guests. His camera was okay...his ankle was not. 

He managed to get through the rest of the reception and make the drive home, but upon getting home and removing his shoes, the pain he was holding in forced him to curse loudly in the hallway, immediately causing Chase to come running. 

The Roidmude took one look at Gou’s swollen, purple ankle and swiftly picked up the teen and carried him to the living room, setting him down on the couch, before Gou had any time to react. 

“Can you move it at all?” 

Gou flexed his toes and barely was able to move his foot up and down, whimpering a bit each time while Chase made an ice bag to put on Gou’s ankle.

“Alright, we need to elevate your foot and ice it to get rid of the swelling. Make yourself comfortable while I grab some extra pillows.” 

After getting Gou situated on the couch, complete with pain pills and hot chocolate, the teen explained what exactly happened, forcing Chase to glare and lightly punch him in the arm. 

“I don’t care how perfect the shot is, don’t risk injury to get it.”

“Okay, okay... Jeez, you sound just like Nee-chan...”

“Don’t make me drive over there and get Mad Doctor. I’ll do it Gou.”

“NO! I’ll shut up now!”


	15. Knife

Gou frowned as he watched Chase whimper in his sleep, the pain from the knife wound in his shoulder disturbing the Roidmude from getting the rest he needed. The phone call he got earlier that night was one he had never expected and he immediately drove to ballet company Misuzu Hatori practiced at.

—–

Chase and Misuzu had become friends of a sort and while she was in the city, Chase had agreed to watch Shou while she practiced. Unfortunately that night, a mugger had decided to attack the two while Chase was walking her home and the Roidmude had dove in front of the woman and had been stabbed in the shoulder. 

The knife’s blade was strong enough to penetrate Chase’s skin and cause damage to the Roidmude and while he had lost the ability to use his arm, was still able to subdue the mugger until the police arrived. Chase had pulled the knife out, in order for his body to start slowly repairing itself, while Misuzu had used her jacket to keep the substance Chase referred to as his blood from leaking out too much.

Gou had arrived just as Shinnosuke was putting the mugger in the police car and allowed the teen to enter the barrier to get to Chase. Chase was holding Misuzu’s jacket over his wound and allowed Gou to take over so he could help him get to their bikes, which Gou had activated to form Ride Crosser. Misuzu was still near him, talking to an officer about what Shou looked like, since he had run off during the confrontation. 

“Um…excuse me! Is this your dog?”

The four had looked over to see a young man in a suit and glasses, holding the leash with Shou at the end, who was determined to break the police tape to get to Misuzu. Upon a closer inspection, Chase and Gou found the man to look very familiar.

Misuzu ran over and bent down, hugging the dog, before standing up and taking the leash from the man. “Thank you so much! Shou is very precious to me!”

The man smiled. “I can see that! As soon as he ran up to me and I took his leash, he immediately pulled me in this direction. From what I can see, something bad must have frightened him. I’m glad that you look to be okay.”

“I am, but my friend Chase wasn’t so lucky. He protected me from getting hurt and got hurt himself. But the wound isn’t too bad for him. He’ll be healed up in no time.” 

The man looked behind Misuzu and saw Chase and Gou walking closer to the two, since the bikes were behind the man. “Chase? Chase!? You two are friends?”

Misuzu gasped. “Wait…you know Chase too?”

Chase slowly bent down to pet Shou and let him know he was okay before addressing the two. “Allow me to introduce you two. Misuzu, meet Mitsuharu Kineta. Mitsuharu, meet Misuzu Hatori.”

———–

“Gou, I can’t really sleep if I can sense you’re worried about me. The wound will heal in a few days. I’ll be fine.” Chase opened his eyes and wearily looked at Gou, patting the bed with his good arm as a signal for Gou to crawl in bed with him.

Gou sighed and slipped under the covers, careful not to move the bed too much. “I’m just worried about how some mugger got a weapon strong enough to damage a Roidmude. I know Rinna’s gonna analyze it, but I’m still worried about it.”

“It’s best to not worry for the time being. As soon as we have some information, we’ll get to the bottom of it. At least a bit of good came out of this. Misuzu and Mitsuharu looked like they were enjoying each other’s company by the time we left. Shou also seemed to like Mitsu pretty well.”

Gou chuckled. “This is gonna be sad to say…but you know both Medic and Brain would kill you a thousand times over if they knew you got their humans together as a potential couple.”

Chase looked sad for a moment before turning his head to look at Gou. “Heart would be Shou in that relationship, since he likes both of them but loves Misuzu more.”

The two looked at each other for a moment before both of them started laughing.


	16. Confuse

Despite the progress Chase gone through in understanding humans and how to be like them, there were still things that would confuse the Roidmude. The wedding Gou and he were a part of had made him question the teen about every detail regarding it.

“Chase, quit fidgeting! Usually you’re so stiff that sometimes I forget you’re actually alive.” Gou grumbled, trying to get Chase’s bowtie on straight. He cursed inwardly that he should have got the clip on ones.

“Isn’t it customary to get nervous at a wedding?” Chase tilted his head, moving his neck, causing the bowtie to shift and undo in Gou’s hands.

“GAAAH! Chase, you’re impossible! Tie it yourself!” Gou plopped down hard on a chair and began to try to tie his own bowtie. “And usually it’s the bride and groom that are supposed to be the more nervous ones. Since we’re the best men, we’re supposed to keep the groom from freaking out.”

The Roidmude grabbed the ends of his tie and quickly tied it and reached down to tie Gou’s after his three unsuccessful attempts. “Where IS Shinnosuke anyway? We are supposed to be helping him get ready as well.”

The teen looked at his phone and pushed the detective’s call info. After a few rings, a nervous voice answered.

“G…Gou? Yo…you’re alone, right? Please tell me you’re alone! As in Kiriko’s not there!?” 

Gou’s eyes furrowed. “Shin-nii-san… WHAT DID YOU DO!?” 

After a few minutes of listening to Shinnosuke, Gou sighed and ended the call. “Come on Chase, we have to go kidnap the groom and get him back here. Apparently, Shin-nii-san accidentally saw Kiriko and he’s afraid she saw him see her and will be on the warpath to kill him. So he’s hiding somewhere in the building.”

“Gou…I do not understand. Why would Shinnosuke be afraid of looking at Kiriko today? They saw each other last night and they will see each other later. Why would Kiriko want to kill him for seeing her?”

The two began going through some of the empty rooms. “Well Chase…since they decided to have a western style wedding like America does, it’s a tradition that on the day of the wedding, the groom is not supposed to see the bride until the actual ceremony starts. It’s considered bad luck. And since Nee-chan has been working nonstop to make the wedding perfect, her finding out she got seen will have her go into a rage.”

“So…if Kiriko does not know, then we don’t tell her. Or we die.”

“Precisely.”

————

The two found Shinnosuke just in time and Chase had to sprint carrying the groom bridal style to the chapel while Gou was close on his heels, in order to be in place in time for the music to begin. 

Gou had pushed Chase to be closer to Shinnosuke, in case he tried to bolt again, but once the doors opened and Kiriko walked out with Chief Honganji walking her down the aisle, both boys saw Shinnosuke relax considerably.

Later on, Gou had to explain more wedding customs to the confused Roidmude at the reception, including that only the bride and groom were to feed each other cake and that they were NOT going to repeat the strawberry shortcake incident from a month back, despite the fact both of them had enjoyed it. 

Gou relented and sighed once he saw Chase’s disappointed face. “Okay…we’ll take a piece of cake and do it once we get home. I’m shoving cake in YOUR mouth this time though.”


	17. Conceal

Chase hated his Roidmude form. It was a harsh reminder that while he was human-like, he’d never BE human. It was the form he had while working with Krim Steinbelt, it was the form he had when Heart, Brain, and Freeze had tortured and reprogrammed him, it was the form he assumed when he pretended to attack Nira to get him to let Shinnosuke transform. If there was one thing he could change about himself, it would be to never be able to change into that form again. It left a sinking feeling in his being to look down and see the 000, reminding him that he was just a number and had only gained a chance to have an actual name only a short time ago.

“Chase? Rinna’s ready for you if you’re ready.” Gou came up behind the Roidmude, putting his hand on Chase’s shoulder and squeezing gently. 

The teen had noticed Chase hadn’t seemed like himself after Rinna had called them, wanting to take a look at the Roidmude’s body after analyzing the knife Chase had been stabbed with a few weeks ago. She wanted to see if his shoulder had healed and also take a few samples in order to get a better read on the weapon. Chase had agreed to come in, but Gou had noticed a slight quiver in his voice, prompting Gou to invite himself when Chase went in.

Since Rinna needed to analyze him and he couldn’t digitize his real clothing he started to wear constantly, Chase came in wearing his purple ensemble. He transformed into his Roidmude form and laid down on the table, staying perfectly still while the woman checked him over. 

“Okay Chase, you can...oh... I thought...” Rinna was surprised at the speed in which Chase had resumed his human form and was almost to where Gou was standing by the door.

“Hmm? Was there something else you needed Miss Rinna?” 

“N...no. I’ll call you two when I find anything. Thank you Chase.”

\----

Gou waited until they were home and Chase had changed into something more comfortable and had relaxed before bringing up what had transpired. 

Before Gou had a chance, Chase looked him square in the eyes. “I hate it, my Roidmude form. I’d...I’d like to conceal the fact that I’m just...a robot, just a numbered machine...as long as I’m able to. I...I can’t stand to look at myself when I’m in that form.”

Gou swallowed hard and reached over to take one of Chase’s shaking hands. “After you...died...I told Banno that you had been the kindest person I had ever met. And I meant it. Chase...you’ve done so much for humanity. You’ve risked your life to protect the people you love and cherish. A robot is just a mindless piece of machinery programmed to do basic tasks. But you...you have everything a human has. Your own heart, your own soul, your own mind. No matter what you look like on the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts. You ARE human Chase, no matter WHAT you look like.”

Chase was silent as he processed what Gou had said, the teen gently squeezing his hand, before he looked up and softly smiled. “Thank you Gou.”

“Maybe Rinna can find a way to look at you without you changing. Like attach sensors on you and looking at your systems on the computer. I’m sure she can manage something like that.”

“I’d like that. Or if not...I’d like you to be there to remind me who I am.”

“Anything for you Chase.”


	18. Shower

Every so often, Gou had wondered about what kind of person Chase’s human form had been copied from or if it was a form that Brain had created himself, since with the kind of face and body Chase had, it would have been for someone with those looks to not be noticed. 

It was hard to ignore how handsome Chase was, as the Roidmude got his fair share of both women and men staring at him as he walked down the street, even when Gou was with him and the two were holding hands and clearly looking like a couple. 

Gou was still amazed that he lucked out in Chase having the same feelings for him as he had slowly he realized he had for his best friend. Although the teen felt bad for the way he treated Chase in regards to his sister, Chase had made him feel better with reminding Gou that had he not openly expressed his disgust for him to pursue a relationship with Kiriko, then Chase would have not got over his feelings for her and the two would have never got together. 

Their relationship was an odd one, as far as what was considered “normal.” Gou wasn’t too big on romance and Chase still had much to learn about human relationships, so the two worked out that they’d treat each other like they had done before their relationship started. The two had already been dancing closer into boyfriends territory long before they both confessed and made it official, so nothing really had changed, save for adding a LOT more physical activities, especially in bed.

Of course Kiriko had been delighted when the two told her about their relationship. Gou had suspected his sister had started shipping the two when he had pulled Chase into the biggest hug he could muster when the Roidmude revealed that he was alive, but he knew it was probably payback for him wanting her and Shinnosuke together since he had first saw the two. 

There was one thing that did irk Gou about their relationship and that was he got extremely possessive of what he referred to as “Chase’s Perfect Ass” and would glare anyone down whenever anyone save him either stared or dared to try and touch said butt.

Gou was sitting at the kitchen table, seething about the drunk woman that had DARED to slap Chase on his butt and try to flirt with him while the two were out shopping earlier that evening when Chase poked his head in. 

“I’m taking a shower. Do you wish to join me? …It would give you the chance to help wash that “despicable witch’s” germs off me and claim back what’s yours.”

“I distinctly called her some more choicer names than that…”

“In that case Gou, then you DO need to join me so I can wash that filthy mouth of yours out…in my own way.”


	19. Laundry

“Chase...remind me AGAIN how the heck you convinced me to help you with this?” Gou moved to reach up and touch his heavily styled hair, prompting Chase to grab his arm and pull it back down.

“Free laundry soap for a year, we get to keep these suits that we can use for the wedding next month, and we need the extra money to hire the photographer that you claim is the only one that you feel comfortable enough with to take suitable pictures of Shinnosuke and Kiriko’s wedding.”

Gou glared at the Roidmude. “All I need is to do is just down a few energy drinks and I’ll be able to do everything that I need to do at the wedding. Best man stuff, pictures, dancing...I’ll be unstoppable!”

Chase placed his hands on the teen’s shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “No. I’m NOT dealing with the energy crash you’ll get afterward. We’re doing these commercials, so you don’t have to resort to that. End of discussion.”

As the two walked to the set, Gou glanced over to Chase and realized he had slicked his hair down. “Did you digitize your hair to look like that?”

“Yes, it looks more professional. Since our role is that of butlers, we need to look our best.”

“Cheater.”

\-------

“Thank you again for doing this for us Chase. Hope it wasn’t too much trouble for you and your friend, but once that director sees a face she wants on TV, there’s not much we can do to change her mind. Did it feel weird to be on the other side of the camera this time?” Chase’s boss chuckled, once the two got back from making the commercials. 

“It was no problem sir. Although I don’t think I’ll be able to say “Precious Pink” in THAT straight of a face again.”

“You know...you BOTH have a face for TV. It would be easy to...”

“Sir, I’m perfectly fine with my bodyguard work. That’s what I’m good at.”

Gou threw his arm around Chase. “And I’d rather be BEHIND the camera than in front of it, unless I’m taking the picture.”

\------

As the two walked to their bikes, Gou groaned loudly. “I just realized! That laundry soap is one of the top brands in Japan! Our faces are going to be on TV and billboards EVERYWHERE! I’ll never hear the end of it from Nee-chan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://top.lion.co.jp/products/kaori/movie/index.htm#mov4
> 
> Go to the link to watch Chase and Gou as the finest of Aroma Ambassadors.


	20. Walls

The walls of the apartment were covered in framed pictures of the life that Gou and Chase had made for themselves in the time they had known each other. Pictures of parties, holidays, vacations, even copies of the professional photos they had got done doing the laundry soap commercials all had a place as reminders of the relationship the two had.

“They look so happy together... I wonder if...”

“Who the heck are you!?” 

The young man admiring the photos was whipped around and came face to face with one of the men that had been prominent in the photos he just looked at...the one that DIDN’T look like him.

“You must be Gou. Chase told me all about you. He’s out buying food for dinner. I’m Koichi. Koichi Kano, traffic police officer. ”

It took a few seconds for the shocked look to leave Gou’s face and for him to let go of the man that was a spitting image of Chase. “You’re him. You’re...Chase’s human.”

The two heard the door slam and Chase walked into the living room a moment later, furrowing his eyebrows when he saw Gou’s confused face. “I had hoped to get home before you got here Gou. I apologize for leaving Koichi here, but we were out of milk. We’ll explain everything after dinner.”

\-------------

"Ride Chaser is quite an unusual bike, so of course I had to check out to see if the decorations on it were legal when Chase here came walking up. I near had a panic attack when I see this guy that looks EXACTLY like me come walking up. I seriously thought I was either in one of those reality prank shows or the Robot Apocalypse was upon us and robots were copying us and killing the humans to take our place.”

Gou snorted, stifling a laugh. “Hit the nail on the head with THAT one.”

Chase lightly punched Gou in the arm. “I actually already explained to Koichi about the Roidmudes and what transpired.”

Koichi sighed. “I never thought stuff like this would happen in real life. It seems just like a plot in a Terminator movie. I just can’t believe all that went on while I was just going on doing my job and never knowing I literally had a robot doppelganger involved in all that. With people like you protecting us...then is my job really THAT...”

Chase stood up and sat next to the young man. “Your job is important Koichi. And I want to thank you. Although I do not know the exact circumstances on how I copied your form, it was your strong sense of justice and dedication to your job that I believe helped my original programming keep breaking free of all the rewrites and modifications I was put through. You are one of the reasons I was able to redeem myself and become a Kamen Rider again.”

Gou sat on the other side of the human. “And given Chase’s kind and friendly nature, I’m glad Chase picked a human like you. Bet you have a LOT of friends, am I right?”

Koichi mumbled softly, causing Gou to look at him confused and Chase to frown and put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You have friends now, if you want us. Plus...I have some human friends I’d like you to meet. I’m sure you’ll get along great. They are...the people that my Roidmude...friends...copied. They are good people.”

\------

“You don’t realize it, do you Chase? That you’re making your dream come true...at least...somewhat.” Gou had stopped running his fingers through the Roidmude’s hair and looked down into Chase’s eyes.

“What do you mean Gou?” Although the lights were off, Gou could still clearly see Chase had a confused look on his face. 

“You’re bringing all the Roidmude counterpart humans together and they’re becoming friends. After what you did today and about Mr. Warabino investing a huge sum of money into helping Misuzu open her own ballet company, not to mention giving Mitsuharu a higher paying job working for him, you’ve done a good thing Chase.”

“Hmmm...”

“I’m sure Koichi will warm up to the group. After all, look where YOU are now.”

The two fell asleep with smiles on their faces. The nightmares stayed away that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After watching episode 47, had to scrap what I was originally going to have be this chapter because I HAD to include Koichi in our little friendship/family I had created.


	21. Insult

Chase was dreading going into the Drive Pit to get his back fixed properly, the aftermath of pushing Shinnosuke out of the way and getting kicked in the back with boots similar to the ones Kiriko had worn during their Kamen Rider days. 

After months of police work, including getting Mitsuharu to search into suspicious police records and recruiting Koichi to look for and pull over any suspicious vehicles matching descriptions in the files Mitsuharu found, Shinnosuke’s team was finally able to identify the organization that had been founded and outfitted with the equipment that was developed to combat Roidmudes. 

After arresting the corrupt police officers that sold the information, Shinnosuke had asked Chase if he could come and back him and his team up, in case something unexpected happened. The team was able to arrest and break up the organization, but Chase had been the only one that had actually been hurt. 

Gou had fretted for a week, but Chase assured him he was fine, but after the Roidmude’s back seized up and Chase was bedridden for two days with limited movement afterwards, Gou begged Rinna if they could figure out a way to contact Krim in the Drive Pit to temporarily borrow Mad Doctor, after she had said that trying to fix his back wouldn’t be an easy task due to how complex Chase’s Roidmude form was.

Rinna had managed the impossible and contacted Krim, who agreed to open up the Pit to let them use the Shift Car. Gou excitedly rushed home to tell Chase, only for him to grow worried as Chase flinched when he touched him. 

“Chase? What’s…?”

“What…if Krim wants me to go back down with him and the arsenal? You told me that he did that because the Core Driviars were still too dangerous. That includes…mine. Gou…I don’t…I can’t…”

Gou gently pulled Chase into his lap. “He won’t. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I promise.”

———–

Gou immediately put his hand on Chase’s shoulder once the two walked in the door of the Drive Pit and saw that the entire Tokujo Division had decided to come down to see Krim while Rinna was fixing Chase’s back. He inwardly frowned. This wasn’t what Chase needed, especially after he had spent most the night trying to convince Chase that everything would be okay.

Rinna already had Mad Doctor in Chase’s Break Gunner and had set up an examination table for Chase to lie on. “Alright Chase, I need you to be in your Roidmude form so I can see exactly where your injuries are. Just change and lie on the table.”

Chase sat on the table and looked up at Rinna. “I can show you on my files where I’m injured, precisely down to the millimeter. I’d rather stay in my human form if you don’t mind.”

Rinna looked at him sadly, remembering the last time she had checked on him. “Chase…I know you seemed like you didn’t…want to… It’ll only be a few minutes, I promise. Ten minutes tops.”

Krim, still in the belt, had wheeled himself over. “Being in your Roidmude form is really the only way that Rinna can accurately heal everything that needs to be healed Proto-Zero. I didn’t…”

“MY NAME IS CHASE!”

Hearing the low talking Roidmude suddenly shout made everybody jump and everyone immediately turned to look as Chase stood up and slammed his hands on the metal table.

“WHY!? Why didn’t you EVER call me Chase after I became a Rider again? Or even TALK to me?! Couldn’t you see I was becoming more than just this NUMBER on my chest?! More than just a mindless robot that only followed orders I was given?! I’m more than that now, especially after these last few months! I have a job, I have friends, I have a family, I HAVE A LIFE!”

Tears began welling up in Chase’s eyes. “None of you understand what it does to me when I transform into…THAT. Every piece of humanity I’ve gained just gets stripped away when I’m reminded that I’m not human. I was already terrified that I was going to get ordered to shut myself down and get sealed up because of my Core Driviar and Krim, NOW that I know you STILL see me as Proto-Zero and not as…Chase…”

A back spasm caused Chase to whimper and let out a choked sob, before he turned his head and glared angrily at Krim before turning around and rushing out of the room. 

Rinna was startled as the Break Gunner was yanked out of her hands and thrusted into Krim’s digital face minus Mad Doctor by a furious Gou. “You EVER insult Chase again like that and I won’t hesitate to pull this trigger. Or would you rather die by the Signal Ax? I’ve got practice on that particular way.”

——

Chase was pretty sure that he was causing more damage to his back by the way he was curled up, as evidence by the painful twitches he was getting. The Roidmude was lost in his thoughts so he didn’t realize that Gou had sat down beside him until Gou had put his hand on one of Chase’s raised knees. 

Chase lifted and turned his head, pain still on his face from his back and the outburst he had had.

“Angsty teenager yelling at his dad and telling him that he doesn’t understand him. We’ll check that off the “Fuck you! Chase is human!” list. Of course…when I did THAT one, that one ended with me going “choppy poppy” on said dad.”

“Gou… what?”

“Well…I’m still not sure on if dad made you by himself or if Krim helped a bit, but since you were Krim’s assistant, he technically raised you, so that would make Krim be your father figure. As for the teenager part, depending on when you were created, you’d technically be a teenager, give or take a few years, judging by our picture together. And my “Chase is human” list? It’s my mental list of human accomplishments that you’ve done that I will remind you of when stuff like this happens.”

Gou put his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Now this is gonna hurt, but I need your back facing me. Tell me exactly where I need to put the Break Gunner. Mad Doctor promised to try to not to cause you any more pain than needed.”

After a few minutes, Chase stood up, pain free, and reached his hand out to give Gou a hand up. “Gou…about what happened…I need to go apol…”

“I’m not going back in there and neither are you. And you are NOT apologizing for telling people how you really feel. The next time we see Krim, if ever, is when he’s had a chance to realize how much he hurt you. No one has the right to insult you and immediately gets a chance to apologize. Not while I’m around. Now lets go home. We’re done here.”

Chase grabbed the Break Gunner out of Gou’s hands. “But we need to give Break Gunner and Mad Doctor back so they can go back in the…”

“They’re not going back. Neither are my Signal Bikes, Circus, or Speed Prototype. Grabbed them before I left as well. Told them it’s not fair that they all have sentience and had to be buried in there against their will as well. And we’ll probably need Mad Doctor if something ever happens to you again.”

———-

It took a full week before anyone contacted the two and to ask how Chase was, giving the two privacy that they needed. Kiriko had told the two Krim had waited an hour, not saying anything, before announcing he was closing the Pit up again and if any of the Shift Cars wanted to leave, they could. Hunter, Monster, Cab, and Vegas decided to stay with Kiriko and Shinnosuke. Traveller left with Otta. 

Chase had given Mad Doctor to Rinna, who in turn, showed Chase the progress she was making on a system that would allow her to check up on Chase without him having to show his Roidmude form. He thanked the woman, giving her a hug, and promised he’d make her something the next time he came to see her.

It took a bit of adjusting for everyone, but after hearing how Chase really felt, it wasn’t long before everyone stopped seeing Chase the Roidmude and started seeing Chase the Human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion to the Knife and Conceal arc that somehow wormed its way into the drabbles. Longest chapter too, but a lot needed to be said. 
> 
> Krim actually called Chase by his name once in ep 32 but I can't remember any other times he did. Mostly it was Proto-zero or using "he" and "him" when talking to others about Chase. It ticked me off that the two never did really talk once Chase went back to being a Rider. So it would be natural for Chase to probably have some built up anger, especially after the humanization he's been going through in the drabbles. (Gou blames/is grateful for the Jdramas Chase is addicted to.)


	22. Fluffy

Chase was soaked from head to toe as he walked in the living room. “Gou, we have a problem. Go get towels.”

Gou jumped up from the couch, gave one look at Chase, and ran to the bathroom, coming back a moment later with two towels as Chase was unzipping his jacket. He grabbed one towel and sat it on the couch and pulled two lumps of wet fur from his jacket. 

“Try to rub them dry as much as you can. I’ll be back in a few minutes after I change out of my wet clothes.”

Gou sat on the couch next to the towel, eyes widening when he realized the two lumps were actually kittens and proceeded to get to work trying to dry them off. Chase came back, having dried himself off and changed into dry clothes. He grabbed the other towel and gently picked up one of the kittens while Gou grabbed the towel with the other one and sat it in his lap so Chase could sit next to him.

“I heard them in the alley I pass by when I was walking to my bike to come home. They were so wet and shivering and the rain outside is not letting up, so I know they probably wouldn’t have made it very much longer. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Gou’s eyes softened and he gave Chase a small smile. “Figured you’d be a cat person. You seem the type.”

Chase looked at Gou in confusion and Gou laughed. “You can sometimes tell a lot about a person by what type of pets they keep. People with dogs are more energetic, tend to get out more, since dogs need a lot of attention. Cat people are more likely to stay inside, they like the quiet and calm. They’re sometimes a bit standoffish but do enjoy company. You fit the cat person description.”

“Hmmm.” Chase smiled as he began to softly pet the gray kitten in his lap, now dry and very fluffy.

Gou wrapped the kitten he had, mostly white with a few spots of orange, in the towel and stood up to walk to the kitchen. “It’s too late to go to the store to get them food, plus it’s gonna rain all night, so we need to find something for them to eat.”

After the two had their fill of meat from the leftover stew that was in the fridge, the two content kittens curled up with each other and fell asleep in the box Chase had made a bed for them in. 

———-

“Gou, can you grab KG from the top of the bookcase? He’s stuck again and refuses to come to me.“

Gou walked into the living room and immediately was able to coax the white and orange kitten to the edge of their bookcase and grabbed him, setting him down. KG immediately ran and pounced on his brother, who was busy sunning himself on the floor. The two played for a while until they decided to curl up in their owners’ laps, falling asleep.

After paying the pet deposit to their landlady and numerous vet visits, the two kittens were now part of Gou and Chase’s lives. The two had unsuccessfully been able to agree on names for the two, until Chase had remarked that the more energetic one, the white and orange, reminded him of Gou if he were a cat. Since the gray one had unfortunately had a bad infection that had thankfully cleared up, he was more subdued and liked to either sleep or sun himself whenever he got the chance. Gou thought the gray one had more of Chase’s nature to him.

The two decided that the kittens would be Kitten Gou and Kitten Chase, or KG and KC for short. Kiriko had told them they were being very unoriginal, but still cooed over them, calling the two Gou and Chase’s “children”, which Gou had to explain to the Roidmude on why she did that.


	23. Gift

“Why is Gou so difficult to shop for!?” Chase grumbled, turning away from a rack of shirts after finding none of them suitable for the young man he was shopping for. 

Koichi held up a pair of motorcycle gloves and Chase shook his head, prompting his human twin to drop them back on the stack and the two walked out of the store to find Mitsuharu waiting for them with the coffee drinks he went to get. The three kept passing store after store, with Chase getting increasingly frustrated as each store proved useless to his task. 

“Why didn’t you ask Kiriko about some of his interests you might not know about?” Mitsuharu finally said after a shoe store visit resulted in Chase walking out empty-handed.

“I did…and had to KEEP reminding her that Gou is turning 20, not 12. What DO you get a 20 year old for his birthday, especially one so hard to shop for? I even asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner and have a few alcoholic drinks since he’s of legal age to drink now, since that’s a human right of passage, but he said no. He told me that he liked the idea that America has with their legal age being 21, so he said he’d have a drink next year.”

“Gou sure does like American things. Wasn’t he living there for a while?” Koichi asked, looking through a rack of sunglasses in the store they just entered.

“Yes, while he was helping Professor Hendrickson test the Mach system. Of course he didn’t get to see much since he was busy working most of the time and they had to move the lab to track Roidmude movement whenever they detected it. Still…he enjoyed what he saw. I know he’d like to go…back… That’s it! I know what the perfect gift for Gou is!” Chase stopped suddenly and his eyes grew wide.

—————-

Mr. Warabino had paid a large sum to a restaurant to have Gou’s party at, since Gou and Chase’s apartment was too small for the amount of people that had been invited. Gou blew out the candles on his cake as everyone congratulated him on turning legal adult age and after cake had been passed around and eaten, everyone took turns giving Gou his birthday presents.

Chase waited to be the last person to give his gift to his best friend and boyfriend. It had taken careful planning and time to get everything perfect, but as he clutched the thick envelope in his hand, he smiled, knowing Gou would love it.

Once Kiriko was finished hugging her little brother, Chase stepped up to Gou and bent down, handing him the envelope. Gou looked at Chase confused, before carefully tearing the envelope open. Inside were over a dozen pamphlets, each for a different state in the US. 

“Chase…what…”

“We have the rest of the pamphlets at home. That was as many as I could stuff in the envelopes we had. Gou…throughout the time I’ve known you, I know you’ve always wanted to go back to America to explore. I know you never really got the chance to when you were testing out the Mach system, but now that we’ve got the time, we’re going. I’ve already requested two weeks off from work and once you go through the pamphlets and decide where you want to go, I’ll buy our airplane tickets.”

Gou bowed his head, before looking up into Chase’s eyes and lunging at the Roidmude, embracing him in a hug that Chase reciprocated. “Thank you so much Chase! THANK YOU!”

——-

Once the party ended and the two got home, the rest of the night was spent trying to decide where to go, Gou smiling widely the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Age of adulthood as well as legal drinking age in Japan is 20.
> 
> Forgot to mention that since the Unnamed Businessman that Heart copied was never named, I gave him the last name as Heart's actor, Tomoya Warabino.


	24. Defective

When Eiji was born, Chase disappeared for a week.

Chase had acted like his normal self once the two had got back home from seeing Kiriko and the baby at the hospital. They had gone to bed and Gou had felt Chase get up to go to work after his internal clock went off. He didn’t realize anything was wrong until Chase didn’t come home that night. 

Gou tried to not panic as he texted the Roidmude and then each of their friends to see if they had seen him when too much time had passed for Chase to not text him back. No one had seen him and Gou reluctantly went to bed, clutching one of Chase’s shirts, hoping that Chase would be home when he woke up.

The second day passed with no sign of the Roidmude coming home or even anyone seeing him. Gou had called Chase’s work and Shinnosuke, wondering if perhaps Chase was doing a job that required him to be gone and have no way of contacting anyone. After both were a miss and Shinnosuke promising to have the police on the lookout for him and his bike, Gou paced around the house until late in the night, passing out on the couch after his exhaustion kicked in.

The rest of the week seemed like an eternity, with Gou, their friends, and the Shift Cars and Signal Bikes going around the city trying to find Chase to no avail. Gou had hardly ate or slept, the nightmares jolting him out of what little sleep he managed. 

———

Gou shakily managed his way down the steps, the pit his stomach dropping with each step. He didn’t want to be here, especially after what happened the last time him and Chase had seen the Drive Pit. He still hadn’t forgiven Krim, but right now, he was the only one that would be able to find Chase. The scientist had given Shinnosuke a way to contact him easier, should the need arise for the three to be Riders again.

He made his way to the control pad to enter the code he had, when he heard shuffling in a dark corner of the room. Whipping his head around, he slowly made his way to where he heard the noise, his eyes adjusting to the darkness and gasped when he began to make out a body. 

“Chase?”

“…Gou…”

Immediately Gou was by Chase and dropped to his knees, eyeing the Roidmude for injuries before pulling him into a hug. “Chase! You don’t know how much I…! …Chase?”

Chase had grabbed Gou’s arms and gently pushed them away from him. “Gou…I…I can’t. It’s not fair to you. I’m sorry.”

“Chase…what… what’s wrong? Don’t you know how much I’ve worried about you this week? We all searched everywhere to find you! Why are you even down here anyway?”

Chase looked at Gou, pain in his eyes. “It’s my fault. I’m…I’m defective. I made YOU defective as well. You deserve to be happier. You deserve to be with someone normal, someone that can give you what I can’t.”

“Chase…what the hell are you talking about!?”

“Children. We can’t have them. Even if I were female, I’m still a Roidmude. It’s not something I can give you. If you stay with me, you’ll be unhappy that you don’t have anyone to continue your family like Shinnosuke and Kiriko do.They looked so happy to have Eiji and you were practically beaming with pride. I want you to experience that. You’re young. You’ll find someone to start a family with once I deactivate myself and…”

The punch to his face confused him and he furrowed his eyebrows and stared as Gou gripped his injured hand for a moment before grabbing the Roidmude by his shirt and pulling him up, slamming him to the wall. 

Tears were forming in Gou’s eyes. “What the hell Chase?! Where the hell did you get THIS STUPID IDEA from?! How can you say I’m not happy being with you?! I AM! I spent this entire week frantically searching for you, barely eating, barely sleeping since I couldn’t stand the nightmares I would get! You’re not defective, I’m not defective, WE’RE NOT DEFECTIVE just because we can’t have children.”

Gou let go of Chase and slid down the wall, tears streaming down his face. “Chase…you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. We’ve been through so much together and we have our whole lives to do even more. I know I don’t say it as often as I should, but… I love you Chase. I can’t imagine spending my life without you. I couldn’t. …I wouldn’t…”

Chase moved to join Gou on the floor and pulled him into a hug. Both boys stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to let their tears subside before trying to talk again. 

“Gou… I didn’t…realize how much I would hurt you like this or how much you would have hurt more had I gone through with what I was going to do. I was so convinced you deserved more happiness than I could give you after you saw your nephew for the first time, I couldn’t see the consequences of my actions. I apologize.”

Gou put his head on Chase’s shoulder. “Eiji’s your nephew too, you know. I already told you that you’re stuck with me. Nee-chan and Shin-nii-san are just as much your family as they are mine. And we don’t need children to be happy, helping them with Eiji when they need a break is enough right now. And…should we ever do decide to want them, there’s always adoption. Or we could get a pet.”

Gou’s stomach grumbled and Chase stood up and helped the other up. “Let’s go home and get you something to eat. You said you hadn’t been eating. We need to fix that. And after that, sleep.”

Gou yawned and nodded in agreement, allowing Chase to lead him outside to where their bikes stood waiting.


	25. Faded

Chase knew that tonight would be their final moments. He could sense the change in Gou’s heartbeat since the moment he woke up that morning. As much as he wished the two had more time, he knew that this was the end of their journey.

Gou and Chase stayed true to their words. They had spent the rest of their lives together. They had watched Eiji grow up and become the next Drive when the need for a Rider in their city was needed again and in turn had seen him start his own family. They had been there to help Mitsuharu plan out the perfect way to propose to Misuzu. They had both helped support Koichi and his young daughter when Koichi’s wife had died unexpectedly, as both Chase and Koichi considered themselves brothers of a sort.

The two spent a lot of time traveling the world. Chase had quit his job to accompany Gou when some of his nature pictures got published and he became a world famous photographer. Their home was always in Japan and the two stayed once Gou decided to retire.

Once Gou had started looking older, Chase had started to change his appearance to match. While he was still in perfect shape internally, he wanted to grow older with his best friend and soulmate. 

\-------

Chase walked around their home one last time, making sure each box was labeled and that the appropriate letters were written. After the devastating time Gou had once Shinnosuke and then Kiriko died and having to go through and box their life up, Chase wanted to make sure that their surviving family didn’t have to go through near as much pain.

He and Gou had talked about it with the family on Chase doing the work of going through everything and separating and boxing everything up. Since it was hard for Gou to walk, he mainly stayed in bed the final few days, letting Chase carry him around the house one last time before Chase got to work.

\---------

Gou weakly lifted his head up and smiled as Chase walked into the bedroom. “I guess it’s time?”

Chase nodded. “Yes. Look away Gou. I don’t want you to see...this. You already saw it one too many times in your life.”

The two locked eyes with each other for a moment before Gou turned his head and Chase used up all his energy to safely let his body disintegrate, like Brain, Medic, and Heart’s had done, pushing energy in his Core that would let it do the same and not be able to come back, like he had done twice already.

It felt weird being a Core again and it took a moment to get used to moving. He floated to Gou, who had his hands out, and snuggled himself into Gou’s arms.

The two laid there in silence until Chase felt his Core start to break down and heard Gou’s breath catch in his throat. As Gou took his final breath, the last zero in Chase’s Core faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started the drabbles, I never intended on any of them to really be connected, but somehow they decided to fall into place like that. I had always decided to end the story on Faded though and have that be the drabble plot. 
> 
> As such, since the drabbles aren't in order, here's a reading order list to the best of continuity in case you wanted to go back and re-read in order.
> 
> 4- Sharing  
> 2- Clothes  
> 5- Hamburger  
> 10- Bodyguard  
> 6- Explosion  
> 1- Soothe  
> 3- Angel  
> 12- Memories  
> 11- Computer  
> 7- Delirious  
> 18- Shower  
> 15- Knife  
> 17- Conceal  
> 20- Walls  
> 9- Pain  
> 21- Insult  
> 8- Shivering  
> 13- Tempt  
> 19- Laundry  
> 16- Confuse  
> 14- Elevate  
> 23- Gift  
> 24- Defective  
> 22- Fluffy  
> 25- Faded
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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